On last night’s Amazing Race, contestants lined up at the Monsopiad Cultural Village for a traditional Malaysian blessing. Millie — self-identified as a Christian virgin — wrinkled her pug nose and cringed the entire time, later saying, “Being Christian, it was just a little unusual. I mean, what could they be saying? They could be putting a voodoo chant on us.”
My first response: honey, there’s a difference in a chant and a curse. Learn it.
My second response: that kind of fearful ignorance makes my blood boil.
I’m reminded of a plump, older woman — the sort with cheap sunglasses and too much greasy lipstick — who wandered within my earshot during one of our trips to Thailand. As we wandered through peaceful, ancient temples, she hissed to her husband, “What a shame for them to waste all this money and effort.” She looked to me, assuming she’d get confirmation and agreement from another white person. “I mean, what with their gods being false and all.”
Why do these people even travel? It seems a shame to waste all that money and effort on traveling to other countries, when you can sit in your La-Z-Boy, punch up the Travel Channel, and thumb your nose at other cultures from the comfort of your own home.
Does Jerry Falwell have a website that may enlighten me as to who or what I should pray for while watching The Amazing Race? I am afraid that I may hold non-christian thoughts toward at least two seperate individuals that are misplaced. Maybe three… (Don’t you just love the show!)